This invention generally relates to advertising and more particularly to layering social networking system data on user data to target content item to users.
Advertisers generally want to display online advertisements to users who are likely interested in an advertised product. Often, in order to ascertain whether a user is likely interested in a product, advertisers assume that users exhibiting certain characteristics are also generally interested in certain products. For example, an advertiser may assume that a user who has viewed running videos, has purchased running shoes recently, and has joined a running group may be interested in purchasing a heart rate monitor. However, such information about a user may not available to any advertiser or publisher.
In one example, an advertiser can receive information about a user's purchasing history from a retailer and display advertisements based on the user's purchasing history. For example, an advertiser may display an advertisement for heart rate monitors to a user if the user has purchased running shoes recently. However, the user may not be interested in purchasing a heart rate monitor if the user purchased the running shoes for casual wear. Thus, advertisers are not able to effectively advertise products to users based on a user's purchasing history with a retailer.
In another example, a heart rate monitor may be advertised to a social networking system user who has indicated running as an interest within the social networking system. However, the user may not be running actively or may already have purchased a heart rate monitor. Thus, advertisers routinely advertise products to users who may not be interested in an advertised product.